Of Love and Dungbombs
by AimeeK
Summary: Fred Weasley had planned to spend the summer working on his and George's joke shop. Little did he know, he would fall for his brother's girl, Gryffindor bookworm, Hermione Granger. Revised Version. Much, much better now.
1. Why so happy?

1**Of Love and Dungbombs**

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. I wish I did though. _

_**Character** **Pairings:** Fred and Hermione, George and Katie, Ginny and Harry, and a little Ron and Hermione_

_**Plot:** Fred Weasley had planned to spend the summer working on his and George's joke shop. Little did he know, he would fall for his brother's girl, Gryffindor bookworm, Hermione Granger._

_revised._

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Why so Happy? **

Dinner that night was fairly loud despite the fact that three members of the family weren't there. But Harry had just arrived and that, in the eyes of Molly Weasley, was more than enough reason for a celebration. She had slaved away in the kitchen right since his arrival and cooked up quite the feast. The kind of feast you can smell throughout the house and it draws you in as if you were under some sort of spell.

Her son, Fred Weasley was up in his room at the time, tinkering with one of his and his brother's little inventions. You know - the ones they were supposed keep secret from their mom. Joke items - they had been planning on selling them as soon as they opened their own shop in Diagon Alley. Though, unknown to them, that would not be for awhile.

Deciding work was overrated when compared to his mother's cooking. Fred tossed the gadget across the room and runs, quite quickly I might add, to the dining room where he discovers he is the last to arrive.

Pulling out a chair beside his mom, he couldn't help but notice the huge grin on his younger brother Ron's face. He gave a questioning look to his twin, but George just shrugs and continues to shovel a spoon full of food into his already full mouth. Down the table, Ron, Harry, and Ginny were already deep into a heated conversation about Quidditch whereas George had been discussing their latest invention with their dad, their mom glaring at them every few minutes. "Honestly, a joke shop is not a proper job. Quit encouraging them Arthur!"

"What are you so happy about little bro? Did you finally learn how to tap-dance?" Fred asked, a smirk plastered across his face. Harry let out a snort of laughter, spraying food all over Ginny.

"Hey!" Ron and Ginny yelled at the same time.

"Sorry Gin."

"Ron. Is Hermione coming this summer?" his mom asked from down the table. Ron, whose face had reddened at the mention of her name, nodded, the huge grin back on his face. "She's coming tomorrow."

"Ooh does Ickle Ronniekins have a crush?" Fred teased, knowing full well that he did. Anyone with half a brain could tell he did. Except maybe Hermione.

xxxx

Later that night Harry and Ron sat up talking in Ron's room, where, besides Ron's bed, a cot was set up for Harry. The moon shone in through the Chudley Cannons drapes on Hedwig and Pig who were already fast asleep in their cages. The latter being thoroughly exhausted from delivering Ron's latest letter to Hermione.

"So, are you finally going to tell Hermione how you feel?" Harry asked as he grabbed a handful of Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans.

"I dunno mate. Do you think she would go out with me?" Ron asked.

Harry shrugged. "Maybe. But if I were you I would do it soon before somebody else does."

"I still have a month. It's not like anyone in the Burrow would ask her out. Right?" Before Harry could answer though, he declared "Man I'm tired! Night Harry!" And with that he flicked of the light.

"Night Ron."

xxxx

Meanwhile there was a knock at the twins' bedroom door. George climbed out of bed, walked over to the door, carefully avoiding the stuff on the floor. Just last week he had cut his foot trying to walk across the floor in the dark. He opened the door to find his mother; looking slightly happier then she had all summer. "Your father and I would like to speak to you two."

"I didn't do it!" George responded automatically. Molly just rolled her eyes and left the room. "Wake up your brother and meet us in the den."

He walked over to his brother's bed, kneeled down, and bunched him lightly on the arm. "Wake up." Through loud deep snores came his response "Five more minutes 'Mione." George just sat there gaping at him. Once he snapped out of it he shook his brother whose snores abruptly stopped.

"Fred! Why were you dreaming about Hermione?" George said. "I wasn't." Fred replied quickly. It was a good thing it was dark because his now red cheeks would have been a dead give away. Truth was, he had a little thing for her. He would never go so far as to actually have a crush on her. She was Ron's girl. He knew that. And he knew that Ron would never forgive him if anything were to happen. _Oh well, it's just Hermione_ thought Fred. _Silly bookwormy Hermione. No big deal. _He sighed.

They made their way into the den and sat down on the couch opposite their parents. Their mom and dad looked at each other, bracing themselves for the outburst that was sure to follow the announcement they were about to make. Fred and George knew that look. It was the look they always share before they told them something they didn't like.

"We just finished talking to Dumbledore and we all agreed that now that You– Know–Who is back it is in your best interest to return to Hogwarts."

"Well we are not going." Fred stated calmly.

"Actually you really don't have any choice in the matter. You are going back. Katie Bell will tutor you to starting next week to get you two caught up with the rest of your year." Their mom replied sternly.

"You can't make us go back!" Fred yelled, jumping off the couch "That isn't fair!" George, who was already on his feet, was yelling next to him. "But the shop…!" he began only to be cut off by his dad, Arthur Weasley, who had been quiet the whole time.

"As much as I like the idea of a joke shop," His wife glared at him. "Goodness knows we need some more laughs with You-Know-Who back. I have been doing some research too and it turns out that you need a certificate of graduation in order to start a business in Diagon Alley."

"What?"

But they both hear perfectly well what he had said and quickly Apparated to their bedrooms. In too bad a mood to even complain, they climbed in to their beds and closed their eyes. But neither of them got to sleep for a rather long time.

_The only good thing that will come out of this is that I will get to spend more time with Katie_ thought George. Not that they were officially going out or anything but it was quite obvious that they both liked each other. Katie, Angelina, and Lee Jordan (their best friends) were the only ones who knew of their plan to leave Hogwarts the past year and before they had even started their plan Katie kissed him on the cheek and told him to stay in touch no matter what. And he had. They had been writing letters to each other all summer. _I can't wait to see her again._

Fred, on the other hand, was quite a bit less enthusiastic toward the idea of Katie tutoring them than George was. When it was just the three of them, Fred always felt like the third wheel. It would definitely happen again. He knew George was determined to make something happen this summer and once again he would have to put up with the constant flirting. Things had been better when Fred was going out with Angelina but they had broken up a couple months before they had left school, although they did remained good friends. _On the bright side, (if there is one) if I am having trouble with something I could always ask Hermione for help. _And with that thought he fell off to sleep.


	2. Underneath This Smile

**Of Love and Dungbombs**

_**Disclaimer:** J.K. Rowling is a genius. I'm not. Enough said. Haha. _

_Revised._

* * *

**Chapter 2 – Underneath This Smile **

Ron had already gone through all the shirts in his closet when his sister knocked on his door the next morning. He stepped over the pile of shirts on his floor and opened the door.

"Ginny! Thank goodness you're here!" Ron exclaimed, giving her a hug. "Help me figure out what to wear!" Ginny rolled her eyes. "Honestly Ron, I don't think Hermione is going to care what shirt you've got."

"Who says this has anything to do with Hermione?"

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Okay! It does! So what should I wear?"

Ginny bent down and picked up a yellow tee shirt. "What's wrong with this one?" Ginny asked. "Duh! Hermione doesn't like that shade of yellow!" Ron said as though wearing that shirt would be the end of the world. Ginny tossed the shirt on his bed and bent down to find another one. When she stood up again she was holding a dark green, long sleeved shirt.

"Wear this one. It brings out the color of your eyes."

"Thanks Gin. You're the best!" Ron declared, reaching over to give her a hug.

As Ginny walked out of the room, she started giggling quietly. "He's so stupid." She laughed to herself.

"You know, talking to yourself is usually the first sign of insanity." Harry joked from behind her. Ginny, who had jumped at the sound of his voice, blushed slightly as Harry laughed at his own joke.

"Oh, it's just you." Ginny said as she turned around to face him.

"Just me? I'm hurt. Really, I am." Harry teased.

"Will a hug make you feel better?" Ginny inquired.

"Well it wouldn't hurt." Harry replied.

xxxxx

Breakfast the next morning was a lot quieter than usual with Mr. Weasley gone to work and the twins in their room sulking. "Meals are so boring without the twins." Ginny often said. But Harry was actually quite grateful for the quiet. He had barely gotten any sleep last night and the sleep he did get was not very good. Nightmares of Sirius' death had woken him several times during the night. Eventually he had given up on sleeping and opened up his copy of _Quidditch Throughout The Ages. _He had never told anyone that he had these nightmares although he assumed Ron must know as they had been sharing a room for the last couple weeks but thankfully Ron had never mentioned anything. Harry felt as though he had to be strong. As though, someone would figure him weak if they knew. He could just imagine what Draco and the other Slytherines would do if they found out. And so he kept quiet.

Once Ron, Harry and Ginny had finished, they headed to the kitchen to do the dishes. Mrs. Weasley wouldn't usually let a guest do dishes but she had left after she eating to go to town and Harry had insisted on helping. The system they had was as follows: Ginny would wash the dishes, Harry would dry them, and Ron would put them away. Laughing and joking as they went, the sink slowly emptied.

_Ding Dong! _

"I'll get it!" Ron yelled, as he ran to the door.

Harry and Ginny stayed in the kitchen to finish the dishes, sneaking glances at each other occasionally. When they were done, Ginny reached into the sink, through the bubbles, to pull the plug but changed her mind half way. She turned to Harry and raised her bubbly hand. Her eyes sparkling mischievously.

"You wouldn't!" Harry replied, eyes wide, knowing exactly what Ginny was about to do.

"Oh really?" She waved her hand wildly through the air... and a bunch of soapy water hit Harry right in the face. Harry stood there blinking for a minute before replying "You. Are. So. Dead." He grabbed a soapy sponge and wrung it over her head. Ginny grabbed the other sponge and an all out water war followed.

The pair chased each other around the kitchen, both soaking wet, slipping and sliding on the slippery floor. Soon Ginny had Harry cornered and advanced on him, dripping sponge in hand. "I got you now!" Ginny yelled triumphantly. In one last desperate attempt to escape, Harry took a step backward, but slipped on the floor and went crashing to the ground, pulling Ginny down with him. Still on top of him, Ginny burst in to laughter. Harry soon joined in. And they sat there, laughing uncontrollably for quite awhile.

Harry hadn't laughed that hard since Moody had transformed Malfoy into a ferret. Not that Ron wasn't funny or anything but compared to Ginny, Ron was just…dull. Ginny didn't even have to do anything to make Harry laugh. If she started to laugh so would he. Her laughter was just so contagious, he just couldn't help it. Ginny was tough, but gentle at the same time. Harry couldn't explain it. He felt as though he was almost attached to her. As if he knew that she too was hiding something that would deem her weak.

Harry stood up (once they had stopped laughing), reached out for Ginny's hand and pulled her up beside him. Still holding his hand Ginny attempted to take a step toward him but ended up back on the ground. _Damn my clumsiness! That was the perfect moment too_… Harry started laughing again.

"Nice…Fall!" Harry chocked out while trying to keep a straight face. Ginny attempted to scowl but ended up smiling at him instead. "Come on Harry. Let's get this cleaned up."

xxxx

Meanwhile, Ron ran to the door, his heart beating a mile a minute. This was it. She was finally here and Ron was finally going to tell her how he felt. He stopped suddenly in front of the door, a spit second away from running into it. _Okay, this is it. Calm down. Look cool. It's go time. _He stretched out his arm, grabbed the doorknob and opened the door

* * *

_Yup, a cliffhanger. Or at least my attempt at one. shifty eys_


	3. Drama, Drama, Drama

1**Of Love and Dungbombs**

_**Disclaimer:** Yes I own it… What you don't believe me? ...Okay fine! I don't! Way to burst my bubble!_

_I still need someone to check my work before I post it if anyone is interested._

_Sorry for not having any Hermione and Fred action in the last chapter. Hopefully there will be more in this one. Oh and if you want to know when a new chapter will be up just check my profile. I keep it updated to let you know how I am doing. Oh and I will probably keep the George and Katie stuff to a minimum. Its not a big part of my story._

_revised._

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Drama, Drama, Drama**

"Oh my gosh Ron, I missed you so much!" Hermione squealed throwing her arms around Ron's neck. Ron, who had nearly been flattened at the unexpected hug, was grinning like crazy. "I missed you too, 'Mione."

"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked Ron, standing on her tiptoes to look over Ron's shoulder. She wanted to check on him. Make sure he was alright. She knew he must be having a hard time and she just wanted him to know she was there for him.

"With Ginny." Ron said with a smile. They shared a knowing look.

"Ohhh…Well then we best not disturb them." Hermione laughed.

"Well then let's go for a walk." Ron replied.

So they walked out of the house, Hermione being completely unaware of Ron's intentions. Well I guess she kind of knew he liked her. Not that it was obvious or anything…well Parvati thought it was. But that didn't mean much. Everyone else thought Ron and Hermione would make the perfect couple. Hermione wasn't quite sure what she thought about that. She just hoped Ron wouldn't take them seriously because she honestly had no idea what she would say. She just wasn't sure how she felt.

By the time they had reached the Quidditch Pitch Bill and Charlie made, Ron had pretty much run out of things to say. He just hoped they could make it through the walk without it turning into an argument. They got into a lot of arguments but it was only really because they cared what each other thought… and because Ron has a talent for getting worked up over the smallest thing.

"Oh, Ron. Did I tell that Viktor came to visit me this summer?" Hermione said excitedly.

Ron paled. "Viktor? As in Viktor Krum? As in international Quidditch player Viktor Krum?"

"Umm…yea!"

"I can't believe you are still in touch with him!_" _Ron said his face beginning to turn red with anger. He tried not to show that he was mad. They had already had this argument. _Just be quiet Ron. Don't make her mad. _

"What is with you? You don't even have a good reason to hate him!"

Ron's temper could no longer be controlled. "I hate him because he's an idiot! A grouch! And you only like him because he is rich and famous! And maybe if you came out of the library once in a while and got a life you would find out that other people like you too!" Ron yelled.

And then Hermione lost it. "RONALD WEASLEY. WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM? DO YOU HONESTLY THINK I AM THAT SHALLOW? HUH? DO YOU?"

Ron opened is mouth to speak. "JUST BE QUIET! AND I AM NOT ALWAYS IN THE LIBRARY! I HAVE A LIFE! A GOOD ONE! I HAVE GOOD FRIENDS OR AT LEAST I THOUGHT I DID, I AM TOP OF MY CLASS AND I'M IN LINE TO BE HEAD GIRL! "

Ron just stood there staring at her. _Man, Hermione is kind of scary when she is mad._

Her voice lowered a couple notches although it was still a fairly loud shout. "Why do we always have to fight?" she asked. "I am sick and tired of it!" And with that she ran back to the house.

_Stupid, no good Krum...always ruining everything! _Ron muttered.

xxxx

Little did they know they were being watched…well more like listened to. George Weasley had opened the window when they heard someone yelling. Fred walked over to the window and sat on the window seat. As much as he loved his little brother he knew his brother deserved this and totally supported Hermione. Not that she needed the support. She was doing a fine job on her own. He was definitely impressed. _Way to go Hermione._

_xxxx_

_I should have asked her when I had the chance. She's mad at me now and will probably never go out with me. I mean, who would? I am total jerk._ He was probably over exaggerating but that was what he thought. He figured he had totally messed up all his chances. But later, back in his room, he came to the realization that Hermione would get over it just like she had gotten over all their other stupid fights. All he had to do was apologize. Letting her cool down first was the probably the best thing he could do at the moment though, so instead he flung himself on his bed and before he knew it, he was asleep. He was tired because he didn't get much sleep last night although not for bad reasons like other people at the burrow. He didn't get much sleep because he was excited. Excited that Hermione was coming the next day. And now he ruined it.

It was nearly suppertime when Hermione emerged from the room she shared with Ginny. She had already reread two of her schoolbooks and was beginning to feel utterly bored. She decided she might as well go help Mrs. Weasley with supper. When she neared the top of the stairs, she saw Fred sitting on the bottom of the stairs. '_Probably sulking' _she declared_ 'What a baby.' _She began to descend the stairs when she tripped over something and fell down the stairs landing right on top of Fred.

"Gee Hermione, I know I am amazingly good-looking but next time you throw yourself at me, try to warn me first." Fred said with a smirk.

Hermione scowled. "You know perfectly well I did not 'throw' myself at you." She snapped, putting a particularly strong emphasis on the word throw. "I merely tripped and you were in the way."

"Oh really? Is that why you are still on top of me?" Fred laughed.

"Oh shut up." Blushing furiously, she pushed herself off of him and stormed into the kitchen. _Stupid egotistical jerk. _

xxxx

Harry had spent that afternoon giving Ginny flying tips and by the time supper rolled around. They were both thoroughly exhausted and decided to head in for supper. And to see Hermione, of course.

Even though Ginny was a year younger than the trio, Hermione was Ginny's best girl friend. Having grown up in a house full of boys, she was used to them more and tended to hang out with the guys at school. Colin Creevy, mostly.

Always hanging out with Ron and Harry didn't give Hermione much time for girl talk either but Ginny was Hermione's best girl friend too and with the two of them together the guys knew not to piss them off. After all, Hermione was top of their year and Ginny had taken after the Weasley twins. A rather dangerous combination. Definitely not a force to be reckoned with.

As they walked into the kitchen they could feel the tension. Hermione was sitting at one end of the table and Ron at the other. Despite not even being near each other you could definitely tell something was up from the way Hermione was glaring at him. Ron was trying his hardest to avoid looking at her but every time he did he felt a wave of guilt. So he kept his gaze on his food. Kraft Dinner. Most people would find this an odd food for a wizard's home but his dad had insisted on trying it. It was after all muggle food. And in his Arthur Weasley's opinion anything to do with muggles was worth a shot. His wife on the other hand was none too thrilled about the idea.

All of a sudden, a large grey owl ran into the kitchen window. It was Percy's owl returning the all the mail the family had sent that summer. Everyone was silent. Arthur looked at his wife, Molly in concern. She tried to stay strong. At least in front of the children. But that didn't happen. She excused herself from the table her voice shaking and broke into a sob near the door. Arthur informed everyone he was going to check on her and quickly left the kitchen.

"What an ass." Fred said quietly for him and George had gone to supper that night. Sure, he and Percy were brothers and all but he hated him for what he had done to their family. His mother crying in her room some nights. And his father was obviously worried about him. Hence the mail he had sent persuading Percy to come to supper some night so they could talk things out.

Everyone nodded. They finished their meal in silence and went to bed.


	4. When the Sun Goes Down

1**Of Love and Dungbombs**

**Disclaimer:** No, I don't own it! Gosh! Idiot! …ha-ha…shifty eyes

_Remember I post my progress on my profile. On with the show… umm story… yea…_

_revised._

* * *

**Chapter 4 – When the Sun Goes Down **

After they had finished their supper Ginny and Hermione had headed up to their bedroom and flopped on their beds to have their nightly talk.

"So, what's with you and Ron?" Ginny asked as she absentmindedly twirled her shoulder length red hair around her finger.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on Hermione. You were glaring at him all supper. I'm not dense you know." Ginny snapped, irritated that Hermione was playing dumb.

"Oh you know, same old. Ron said I was a shallow, library obsessed girl with no life.".

"What! Wait – start at the beginning!" So Hermione told her exactly what happened pausing every once in while to let Ginny cut in with 'I can't believe he said that' and 'No way!' Hermione was starting to feel better having gotten all that off her chest when she had a thought.

"You don't think I was too hard on him, do you?" Hermione asked.

"Of course not! You have every reason to be upset with him." Ginny exclaimed.

"Thanks Ginny." Hermione said to her before changing the subject. "So, I heard you and Harry were spending a lot of time together today." She said slyly.

About a half an hour later, they shut of the lights and eventually fell quiet. Hermione couldn't force her eyes to stay shut though and rolled over onto her back, staring at the ceiling. _People should put pictures on their ceilings._

Hermione looked over at her sleeping friend and sighed. She knew Ginny was having nightmares. She always was. There was no way Hermione could talk to her about it either. Not that anyone would hold it against her; she had been through a lot. Hermione stood up and crept over to the door. She opened it, took one last look at Ginny to make sure hadn't woken her and walked out the door.

xxxx

Down the hall, Ron was telling Harry all about the fight he and Hermione had had. Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Way to ruin your chance." Harry said to him when Ron had finished his story.

"It's not like I meant to say those things!" Ron yelled.

"Whoa Ron! I wasn't criticizing you… well not really… It's just that that's the problem. You never mean to say what you say. You really have to think about what you say before you say it." Harry explained.

"I did…really I did. I just couldn't help it." Ron mumbled.

"You never can. 'Night Ron." Harry reached over and shut off the lights. He rolled onto his side, shut his eyes and before he knew it, he was asleep.

xxxx

Like Hermione, Fred was also having troubles getting to sleep. He was really worried about his mom. Percy was ruining their family. And as much as they needed to, his parents just weren't ready to let him go. He sighed and looked over at his twin. He doubted his brother was really asleep but he was obviously pretending to.

"I am going for a walk, George." He said to him as he climbed out of his bed.

"Why are you talking to me? I am asleep, remember?" George replied. Fred rolled his eyes and laughed. "Right George. Whatever." He crossed his room and walked out the door.

Instead of going to get himself something to eat from the kitchen like he usually did, he headed outside. There was a small pond at the burrow, just up a little path. It was his favourite place to go to think. When he got there he sat down, back against an old tree. As always, his parents' initials were etched into it. When his parents had first bought the house they had carved their names in it surrounded by a heart. Ginny always said it was romantic. Fred just thought they read too many romance novels.

xxxx

Back in the house, Hermione made her way down the stairs extra carefully to avoid falling again. She thought back to that moment. _I made a total fool of my self. Even if it was just Fred, it was still really embarrassing._ When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she turned left and headed into the kitchen. But she did not stop in the kitchen. She opened the back door and walked outside. She only stopped when she reached the end of the path. The path that led to the pond.

The stars were shining brightly that night and as Hermione walked across the grass barefoot, still in pyjamas, she couldn't help but think what it would be like to share a night like this with someone. But to her that was a silly thought and she quickly pushed it away. The last thing she wanted was to become one of those girls she always pitied who only ever talked about how hot some guy was. She even knew girls who got really good grades but threw away their potential to be with some guy. And a guy was definitely not going to come between Hermione and her grades.

Turning one last corner, Hermione arrived at the pond, only to find that she wasn't alone. Fred Weasley sat at the base of a tree a few feet away, his head in his hands.

"Fred? George? Whoever you are! What are you doing here?"

"It's Fred." He replied, looking up. "And I should be asking you the same question."

Hermione shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."

"Yea, me neither."

xxxx

Meanwhile, Harry was tossing and turning in his bed, nightmares haunting his sleep.

_Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his godfather's face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind, then fell back into place. And this time Harry knew he would not reappear. "Sirius!" Harry yelled as his heart broke all over again. "SIRIUS!"_

The next thing Harry knew he was back in his bed, his breath coming in searing gasps, sweat dripping down his forehead. And a single tear rolled down his face. Words could not describe how much he missed his godfather, the closest thing he had to a father. And now he was gone.

Shaking slightly, Harry stood up, threw on a shirt and headed downstairs to the kitchen where he saw Ginny sitting at the table sobbing quietly. He made his way over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping to comfort her. But instead she jumped, and jerked around, hitting him square in the stomach.

"Oh my gosh, Harry. I am so sorry! But seriously, don't ever sneak up on me like that again." Ginny said to him as she attempted a small smile.

"No I am sorry. I shouldn't have scared you like that." Harry paused." Are you okay?"

Ginny wiped her eyes quickly. "Why shouldn't I be?"

"Well, let's see." Harry said, as though pondering the question. "Your eyes are red from crying, and you attacked me just a few seconds ago. Come on Gin. You can tell me, I am here to help."

Ginny sighed. She didn't want to tell anyone that she was having trouble sleeping. But she figured if anyone would know what she was going through it would be Harry. "Okay, but you have to promise you won't tell anyone, they would start worrying about me, and smothering me, and I would never get any peace."

"I Promise."

"Bad dreams." That obviously wasn't a good enough answer but she knew he wouldn't press her any further. She also knew she was probably hurting his feelings by not trusting him enough to confide in him. Ginny looked up at Harry, debating with herself how much to tell him. He would surely tell Ron. And she could just imagine the look on her brother's face, the look when he found out she was still dreaming about Tom.

"Well, I've been dreaming about Tom." Ginny finally said, hoping that Harry would keep his promise, and keep it to himself.

"Tom? As in Tom Riddle?" Harry asked surprise evident on his face.

"Yes, that Tom! Do we know any other Toms?" She snapped, jumping up from her seat. Her eyes had filled with tears again and she was trying her hardest to hold them back.

Harry thought back to her first year. She had been through a lot for someone her age. And he could fully understand why Ginny was having these nightmares. I mean, Lord Voldemort himself has possessed her. Although Ginny knew him as Tom Riddle, a young man destined to become He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Harry suddenly felt a strong surge of anger towards Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy. If it wasn't for him, Ginny wouldn't be up at night crying. For it was Lucius who had slipped Ginny the diary that connected her to Tom and all the horror that followed.

Harry stood up too, his eyes filled with concern. "Oh Ginny," He said softly, reaching out to give her a hug. Ginny stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. And she broke down, right there, weeping on his shoulder. You'd think after Cho, Harry would have experience with crying girls, but just as before he did not know what to do and so he just did what felt right, and stood there stroking her back as she cried. She felt so good standing there in his arms. She felt as though she was safe, and since her first year at Hogwarts, times where she felt completely safe did not come often. And so she cherished every minute of it.

Once Ginny had stopped crying, they made their way into the den and sat down on the couch, where Harry's arm was wrapped around Ginny, her head resting his shoulder. Not a word was said. Not a word was needed. They were both perfectly content and soon began to feel their eyes close. And when Ginny fell asleep first, Harry pulled a blanket off the arm of the couch and covered them up. Harry looked over at the younger girl. She looked completely at ease, a small smile on her face. For once, it looked like Ginny wasn't having bad dreams. She was safe and happy, right there in his arms. As for Harry, he fell asleep soon after, happy to be able to comfort her so.

xxxx

"I am surprised you don't have a book with you." Fred laughed as the official Gryffindor bookworm sat down beside him. He looked over at her to find her frowning.

"You know Fred; I do have a life other than books."

"Oh yea, you have that spew thing going on too." He thought he was teasing her but he should have known better than to have said anything about S.P.E.W.

"It's the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare." She began hotly. Anyone who knew her should know not to get her started on elfish welfare. But before she could begin, Fred grabber her by the shoulders in an attempt to stop her.

"Whoa, Hermione! Lighten up! I was kidding." Fred exclaimed, his arms still firmly planted on her shoulders. But the frustration of the day, and her life, overwhelmed her and tears started falling down her face. _Lighten up! Lighten up! He says. How can I lighten up when things are so many things to be serious about? Elfish welfare being the least of it. Voldemort, School, people's expectations. Teachers, adults, they expect so much from me. How can I lighten up when so much is expected from me? Sure, I guess I should get out and have fun once in awhile but one little mess up and they would be disappointed. And that is something I just couldn't handle, _

Instinctively, Fred took his right hand of her shoulder and gently wiped the tears off her face. He assumed she was crying because of her fight with Ron that day, and well that was part of the reason, it wasn't all of it. He closed his arms around her and held her tight till she stopped. And when she did, a comfortable silence fell between them. Though eventually, Hermione did fell the need to say something.

"Sorry about that. It's just…today kind of overwhelmed me. You know, with the fight with Ron and everything." She didn't tell him the real reason. She couldn't. He would never understand. He would think she was overreacting or being a drama queen or something. He just would never know it feels to have that kind of pressure on you.

"It's okay Hermione." He looked into her eyes. "You know if want to talk or something..."

She smiled up at him, a genuine smile. "Thanks Fred. I'll remember that." She stood up "I think I am going to go try and get some sleep." She informed him before heading back to the house.

_Who would've thought Fred could be that sweet._

* * *

_Yea lots of crying in this chapter but hopefully you liked it. Well please review and tell me what should happen at the first tutoring session._


	5. We were only

**Of Love and Dungbombs**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, the setting, the magic…. So sad…

_Again, sorry for the wait. With finals and stuff I was having a hard time finding time to write. But school's out for the summer so hopefully chapters will be coming more often**. Oh and since HPB is coming out on July 16 I have no idea what to do. Do I just leave it the way it is? Or do I change it so that it is up to date with the books? I am so confused.**_

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Chapter 5 – We were only…

At one point, the next morning, the Weasley household was actually pretty quiet. That point was, of course, when everyone was asleep. For everyone awoke to the sound of yelling. George's yelling to be exact. He was the one who found Ginny and Harry on the couch where they had fallen asleep earlier (much earlier) that morning.

And being one of the older brothers in the family, he was extremely overprotective of his youngest sibling, often calling her his "baby sister", much to Ginny's annoyance. Although Ginny knew her brothers were just looking out for her, she resented the fact that they treated her like a kid. _"Like I can't take care of myself."_ She often thought. _"But I have been through more than most of them 'cept maybe Ron. Though Ron has never been possessed by Tom-no!-Voldemort. Sure, he probably has bad dreams from the Trio's adventures but I doubt they are as bad as mine." _So as Ginny sat there as George yelled at them (well more like Harry) she couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me Ginerva Weasley!"

Harry shifted uncomfortably so that Ginny was no longer on top of him and opened his mouth to explain himself "I swear George nothing happened we -" only to be cut off by George.

"Nothing happened! Nothing happened! You were sleeping on the couch **together** and nothing happened!" his voice steadily rising.

Ginny abruptly stood up (causing Harry to almost fall off the couch) and slapped George across the face. "Get a hold of yourself George! We were sitting here and we fell asleep. That's it!"

George's face seemed to soften as she said this. "You swear?"

"**Yes!"** she cried, visibly exasperated by her brother's lack of faith in her answers.

"Okay. And Harry, you better not make any moves on my baby sister."

"George!" Ginny exclaimed, clearly very embarrassed.

Now George (and Fred) were rather built due to hours and hours of Quidditch training and you really couldn't blame Harry for being a little frightened. Harry didn't even mean what he was about to say. But Ginny didn't know this and had a rather hurt look on her face as he said it. What he said was "I swear George I would never make a move on Ginny."

Without a word, Ginny fled from the room where she bumped in to Hermione who had come downstairs to see what was going on. Seeing the look on her younger friend's face she quickly changed directions. "Ginny what's wrong?"

"Nothing." she snapped but at the top of the stairs she turned around and gave Hermione a "Sorry. I'll tell you later" look and continued on her way to her room.

Hermione shrugged, knowing she would hear about it later and began her decent down the stairs and once more fell down the stairs. But this time there was no one there to break her fall. Luckily she wasn't hurt and turned around to see what she tripped on only to find a Fred Weasley standing there, at the top of the stairs, trying very hard to keep a straight face.

"I am ever so sorry I wasn't there to for you to land on." he drawled, causing Hermione to scowl at him. She decided to ignore his statement though and asked him what she tripped on as she could no see anything from where she was on the floor.

"Tripped on? You didn't trip on anything. You're just very clumsy." He informed her, the smile he was trying to back earlier was now impossible to hide. The look on her face when he said that was enough to make anyone smile. The way she opened her mouth to say something but quickly closed it when she realized she didn't know what to say. The way her one eyebrow raises and you just know that you need to rethink what you just said. The way her face turns red. Not too red, just a little on the apples of her cheeks.

When she didn't say anything he walked down the stairs and offered her his hand. She raised her hand out hesitantly. With the Weasley twins you always had to be careful unless you wanted to become the victim of their latest prank. His hand looked safe enough. His offer, genuine. She took his hand.

"Thanks." She murmured as he pulled her up.

_Ok so I fell…again. And Fred was there to see it… again. Oh well, I guess I am pretty clumsy… But then I never fall… So why now? Why now, twice in two days? And only on these stairs._ She thought about it for a minute and then sighed. _Maybe I am just clumsy._

She turned away from him and entered the kitchen where Mrs. Weasley joined her a couple minutes later to prepare breakfast. Helping Mrs. Weasley completely took her mind off falling and was actually enjoying herself. Or maybe it was Mrs. Weasley's praises that she enjoyed. Either way, she was having fun.

Xxxxxx

Harry sighed, knowing that he had said the wrong thing. Knowing that he should have kept his mouth shut. "Thanks a lot George." He left the room in search of Ginny. When he got to her room he knocked on the door. No answer. But he knew she was in there due to the music playing.

She didn't know why but she always listened to music when she was upset it soothed her. She heard the knock but knew it was Harry. She already told Hermione she would tell her later and the only other person who knew was George and he knew to let her cool down before attempting to make peace.

"Come on Ginny. Open up." Harry yelled as to be heard over the music. Ginny sighed, turned down the music and opened the door. "

"What do you want Harry?" Ginny asked tersely.

But now that he found her and was talking to her, he didn't quite know what to say. "I…um…"

"Well?" Ginny demanded. He opened his mouth but said nothing. "That's what I thought." She slammed the door shut, leaving a gaping Harry.

xxxxxx

A voice boomed throughout the house. "Breakfast is ready!" Food! Everyone hurried downstairs to find a huge stack of pancakes, bacon, eggs and a lot of pieces of toast. Ron, of course, piled his plate completely full of food and sat down at the opposite end of the table as Hermione. Harry sat next to him followed by Fred, Ginny than Hermione at the end. Harry was filling Ron in on what happened and Ginny was telling Hermione. Fred and George were laughing and joking about the latest prank they pulled on Lee Jordon.

"I was thinking," announced Mrs. Weasley "that we could head to Diagon Alley to get your school stuff today.

xxxxxx

"Aren't you coming Hermione?" Ginny asked as she was about to leave the room.

"I already bought my school stuff." She replied, looking up from the book she was reading. It was entitled "6th Year Charms : Year of the Light"

"Well you could come anyways. You know, keep me company?" Ginny told her.

"Sorry Gin I kind of want to finish this book."

"So you are just stay here and read a school book during the summer with no company except Fred."

Hermione shrugged. "Wait. Fred is staying too?"

"Yea, apparently he is the middle of some huge breakthrough related to an invention of theirs and refuses to leave." Ginny rolled her eyes. "Boys…" she turned to leave.

"Hey Ginny." She stopped. "Don't give up on Harry alright?"

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Alright I'm done… Well not completely done. I had more ideas but it think they would be better suited in the next chapter.

**Reviewers:**

Some Random Reviewer – me too! They would be so much fun eh? Thanks for reviewing

Sally – good idea thanks!

Cactus – Well the rest of the house didn't find out… well Harry, Ron, Hermione and George did. Thanks for the complements!

AshleeBrooke – Thanks Ashley. Yea moments are great lol

monsterbookofmonsters – I didn't mess up. I was just purposely ignoring facts. Lol Thanks for the review Caylah.

believe-in-yourself4ever – I am gonna put Fred back in character during the next couple chapters.

White Tiger Black Lion – Thanks for the review and the idea.

coloradoavsgirl – More Harry and Ginny in the next chapter. Lol be patient Ashleigh.

**Thanks to all the other people who reviewed:**

KittyofPiratesSwoop, BetrayedVision, TrueBluePotterFan, Mrs. Ronald Weasly, Antanaqui, Rainbow Sunshine, dolface546, beachbabe17, BeautifulMisconception,

**AND PLEASE INCLUDE A COMMENT ABOUT MY CONCERNS THAT I STATED AT THE TOP OF THE CHAPTER.**


	6. And She Kissed Him Back

**Of Love and Dungbombs**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, the setting, the magic…. So sad…

_Ok Half Blood Prince was awesome! I managed to get through the whole thing in three days. My excuse? I had to pack so I couldn't read all day. Anyways I read it all without spoilers and was surprised to find out the ending which is a lot more than I can say for Ashleigh she knew everything that was gonna happen before reading the book. shakes head_

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Chapter 6 – And She Kissed Him Back

Diagon Alley was full of people that day, with students bustling in and out of shops buying school supplies. George had already abandoned the group after finding Katie in Madam Malkin's and Mrs. Weasley had decided to duck into the bookstore, leaving the three at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, where they joined Neville and Luna at a small table out front. Ginny, happy to have someone to talk to (she had been giving Harry the silent treatment all morning), immediately began to tell Luna all about her summer. Luna, of course, cutting in occasionally to mention things that were completely irrelevant to the conversation (or any conversation, really.)

Ten minutes later, Luna was still rambling on about something or another and to be quite honest, they had given up paying attention not long after she had started talking. "So anyways that's what they are saying." Luna finished.

"And just who are _they_ exactly?" Ron enquired, lifting his head slightly off his hand where it had been resting during Luna's speech. Ginny and Neville both sighed, knowing that Luna had been hoping that someone would ask her that. Both Ginny and Neville hung out with her enough to know that this would take awhile.

Harry snuck a glance and Ginny, brainstorming ways he could get her to forgive him. Suddenly it came to him. It wasn't the best plan but maybe she would at least hear him out. He stood, causing everyone to look at him, and announced that he and Ginny were supposed to meet someone soon. This was, of course, a lie (as Ginny immediately started glaring at him), but it was a lie Luna was oblivious too and although Ginny didn't want to go anywhere with Harry, she also didn't want to expose the lie encase Luna got offended that people were "trying to escape." She gave Luna and apologetic shrug.

Sure, she could have taken off once they were out of sight but Ginny was a little curious about what Harry was going to say. And she did hate being mad at him. Though, that wasn't going to be enough to make her forgive him. Ginny was stubborn. She held grudges longer than most people even if she hated herself for doing it.

"And just where are you talking me?" Ginny whispered urgently.

Harry gave a small smile. "You talked to me."

Ginny rolled her eyes and snapped "How else am I suppose to find out where we are going?" Harry apparently did not have an answer for that and just kept walking.

A little while later, they arrived at small, muggle park with beautiful flowers, lots of trees, and a small pond in the middle. There were a few wizard kids (they could tell because of the absurdness of their apparel) playing on the swings and one on the slide (muggle stuff) but other than that they were alone. Harry couldn't quite decide if that was a good thing. On the one hand, if Ginny were to get mad and cast a Bat Bogey Hex on him there would be no one to save him. But if things went according to plan, it would definitely be a good thing.

Harry sat down on a bench between two trees. Ginny didn't.

"Aren't you going to sit down?" he asked, gesturing to the spot beside him. Ginny shot him a look which Harry took to say "Are you kidding me?"

He stood back up. "Look Ginny," Harry started. He was beginning to feel nervous now.

He walked around to where she was standing in front of the pond. She didn't even bother to look up at him. It took him a minute to decide quite what he was going to say (he hadn't thought that far ahead.) But before he knew it, the words were tumbling out of him, although slightly jumbled.

"I'm really sorry that the feelings you I hurt. But I didn't mean to. I didn't mean what I said. Strong, Beater, George is. I just didn't want to get him mad but I know I shouldn't 'f said that. When it's not true, especially, and-"

"I don't believe you."

"Well you should! 'Cause it's the truth" His nervousness was quickly replaced by the desire to convince her. "I wanna be with you, Gin."

She jerked her head up and looked him straight in the eye. "Oh yea? Prove it." She instantly blushed realizing what she said but Harry was already walking toward her.

And suddenly, without knowing he was going to do it, without even thinking about it, he kissed her. It was soft and didn't last very long, but it was wonderful in its own way because she kissed him back.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Back at the house, Hermione was sitting on the couch reading her schoolbook. Fred, across from her, doing…well nothing. Except drumming his fingers. Apparently that breakthrough of his wasn't much of a breakthrough as he had long since given up and was now, as it seemed, trying his best to annoy Hermione, who had so far not even looked up at him. _This is going to be harder than I thought._

"_The moon calf is intensely shy creature that emerges from its burrow only at a full moon. Its body is smooth and pale grey, it has bulging round eyes on top-" _Drum, Drum, went Fred's fingers on the small table beside his chair.

"_-of its head and four spindly legs with enormous flat feet._" He stretched, a big yawn issuing from him, and accidentally knocked a glass of water over with his arm.

"_Mooncalves perform complicated dances on their hind legs in-_" He was whistling now. _Why can't he shut up? Doesn't he know people are trying to read?_ Drum Drum Drum. In time with the whistling.

"i_n isolated areas in the moonlight._" He's stomping his foot now. ARG. THAT'S IT!

"BLOODY HELL FRED, WOULD YOU PLEASE JUST BE QUIET!" Sure, she blew her cool, but hopefully he got the message.

"Now, now Missy. I will not have anyone cursing in my household." He informed her with an all too serious look on his face.

She raised her eyebrows "_Your_ household?"

"Well seeing as I am the only male in this house at the right now, I am in charge at the present time."

"Oh really?"

"Yes really." He said, puffing up his chest in an attempt to seem superior. "Which means I am in charge of you. What do you think about that?"

"That-" She paused to chuck a pillow at him. "Is that I think."

"You threw a pillow at me." He said as though he was thoroughly scandalized.

"So what if I did?" She did her best to give a Malfoy like smirk.

He grabbed the nearest pillow to him and threw it at her. "That's what."

"You didn't!"

"I did."

"You are so going down." She declared, quickly abandoning her book and advancing on him, pillow in hand.

Twenty minutes (and a pretty intense pillow fight) later, Hermione head up to her room to get her coat as they had decided to go for a walk. Once in the room she was sharing with Ginny, she tidied up some books that were on her bed and some clothes from the floor. _"He really isn't as bad as people say." _She thought to herself. _"And he is good looking… Oh god. I can't believe I just said that but he is. I mean the way his hair is short – but not to short - , his freckles that march across the bridge of his nose, his eyes the color of… wait… I don't know the color of his eyes."_

A couple minutes later she was heading back in the hallway and Fred was coming up the stairs. "Just checking something." He told her. _Probably making sure his room hadn't blown up or anything._ She laughed to herself and took a step to decent the stair, and before she knew it, the all too familiar feeling of falling. But she didn't fall. Fred hadn't yet left the hallway and managed to grab her arm as she fell forwards. Because he had to quickly pulling her toward him, she almost fell backwards again but instead landed quite safe. In Fred's arms.

She looked up at him, clearly embarrassed but she couldn't quite figure out what the emotion on his face was. His face was red too but not in the same way. His eyes were closed. And it looked as though he was biting his lip. All too soon though, she understood why. He was trying not to laugh at her! Again! The nerve! And now he was laughing!

"Fred, I hardly think that was funny." She scowled at him.

"I can't – believe - you fell – for – it – again" He managed through his laughter.

She looked down and that's when she figured it out.

"An enchanted floorboard! I fell twice – almost three times and you didn't bother to tell me!" A howl of laughter issued from the red head beside her. 'FRED WEASLEY! I could have been hurt! Badly!"

"I hardly think that's possible when I'm around." He joked, still laughing pretty hard.

"Ooh! I'll get you for this." She said storming back down the hallway.

"I'm so scared!" He yelled after her, his words dripping with sarcasm

"You will be."

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Yah I know I didn't update in a long time I feel so guilty…Well here it finally is. What did you guys think? Bad? Good? Is Fred slightly back in character? And Ginny and Harry – too soon? It was okay wasn't it? 


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